Kings & Queens of France

Published24th October 2015

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In the late fifteenth century, France was recovering from
the Hundred Years War with England. The majority of its territory that had been
in English hands had been won back, but there were still large fiefs that
France claimed that were not fully under Crown control.

The first was the
independent Duchy of Brittany, which fell under French control in 1488, and was
merged with the French Crown in 1547.

The second, the Duchy of Burgundy (part of
the territories referred to as Burgundy, the Low Countries, Flanders etc)
reverted to the French Crown in 1477, on the death of Charles the Bold, but
parts of Artois and Franche-Comte were still in dispute.

The third, French Navarre, became united with France when Henri III of Navarre became Henri IV of
France.

Henri IV was assassinated in 1610. He was succeeded by his son, Louis XIII, whose minority was fraught with factional intrigues. He took power himself in 1617. Louis’ reign, particularly after he appointed Cardinal Richelieu as minister, began a move towards the absolute monarchy of his son, Louis XIV, and saw a re-imposition of Catholicism in Huguenot areas.

Lorraine, now part of France, remained an independent Duchy within the
Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by France in 1766. Savoy remained an
independent Duchy until it became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1860, with
some parts ceding to France.